¿Que pasa, calabasa? Chetor é? Comment ça va? “Tres Bien!” the campers in Mike Cantlon’s language class would respond.

According to Cantlon, “Brief Intro to World Languages” is “a survey to give [students] a flavor” of different languages, including Spanish, Farsi (Persian), French, and Japanese.

First in this language survey was Spanish. To some, Spanish was, in its own words, “asi-asi”—so-so. Students who had already studied the language found that they knew most of the material that was presented. However, others like Ally McDonnell learned something new. “I knew some words,” she said, “maybe two.” McDonnell also enjoyed the Spanish songs the class learned. “That was pretty cool,” McDonnell said of the songs, which included a rap about the months of the year and a love song. Some students still have the chorus “chiribiribin, porropopo” stuck in their heads from time to time.

On Tuesday, the class buzzed with excitement when they heard that the language of the day was Farsi, also known as Persian. The official language of Iran, Farsi is relatively unknown among students. “I’ve never heard Persian or read Persian,” remarked Sam Henager. “I hope we don’t have to sing any Persian songs.” Luckily for Henager, there was no time for singing that day. Teacher Mitra Maleki presented a huge amount of information, including the alphabet, numbers, short sentences, and conversational words. Students even learned to write their names in the Perso-Arabic script. “It was really cool,” Kristen Pattison said of the script. “I liked how it looked, how it was all flowing together.”

Wednesday’s language was French, taught by our own Chris Mathieson. Although claiming that some students in the class surely knew more French than he did, Mathieson provided an enlightening experience. Students first learned conversational introductions, responses, titles, and other words. Next, they learned the names of various dishes and drinks, from “le thé glacé,” iced tea, to “le rosbif,” the roast beef. Mathieson also answered student questions about the culture of France, which is sometimes misunderstood. A discussion of French stereotypes ensued. Overall, the class was very enjoyable. “It was very fun and interesting,” Timeka Dillard said. “Hopefully someday I could travel to Canada.” From Mathieson’s humorous impressions of Quebecois, it might be an interesting experience indeed.

The class will conclude with Mike Cantlon’s Japanese lesson, which will include paintbrush calligraphy. This is the first class that Mike has taught in thirteen years.

Kristen Pattison contributed to the reporting of this story.